Running 'Round This River Town
by MaydayParade8123
Summary: A fill for this prompt: "could you please write percabeth being bros?" Percy and Annabeth doing dumb best friend things. Oneshot. Title from Schoolboy by GROUPLOVE.


_Summary: A fill for this prompt: "could you please write percabeth being bros?"_

Disclaimer: I don't own the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, the Heroes of Olympus series, or characters I adopt from those books. Merely the characterization and plot are mine.

;;;

It's 3 A.M., Annabeth can't sleep, and Percy's already on his way to her house.

Sometimes Annabeth finds it hard to sleep; finds it hard to lull her mind into unconsciousness when it's so busy going over the vocabulary for her AP classes. Sometimes it's just a little too much to ask her mind to slow down when her parents are fighting well into the night and the yelling only gets louder. Sometimes Annabeth doesn't sleep at all, and she has her best friend for that.

She's just pulled her jacket on when her phone starts buzzing from it's place on her desk. "Hello?"

"I'm here," Percy sing songs, and Annabeth smiles at the sound. "Be right down?"

"Duh," Annabeth scoffs, hanging up on him. She pushes her desk—-thank God her parents bought her one with wheels on it—-into the corner of the room so she can access her window. She's also glad her parents decided on the one-story house as opposed to the fancy condo.

She opens her window carefully and maneuvers her way out with ease. Annabeth's done this a million times and she's never been caught, so it's no surprise that she makes it to Percy's car without a hitch.

"Good evening," Percy greets in a suave tone, a top hat on his head. "Where to, Miss Chase?"

Annabeth decides not to ask about where he got the hat. "I wouldn't be mad at a milkshake."

"Ah, good. The only place open at this hour is Steak N Shake anyways," he answers with a laugh. "Thought I'd at least give you the illusion of a choice, though." He takes the hat off and tosses it into his backseat, humming along to a Top 40 hit. Annabeth really loves her best friend.

They shout the newest Pitbull song at the top of their lungs even though they only know the chorus, and Percy just says random words during Pitbull's raps. It makes Annabeth laugh so hard that her stomach hurts, and Percy's smile is so bright it almost blinds her.

Percy, in many ways, is like a candle. She feels like he's always there, maybe not always lit, maybe not always bright, but always ready to ignite if he needs to. He's one of the few people who _can_ make her laugh—-and not the polite chuckles she offers when her teacher's exhibit dry humor, or the bubbling giggles when someone says something funny in class. Percy makes her laugh so hard she can't breathe; so hard her cheeks hurt from the way her smile won't drop; so hard that she reaches that point where no sound actually comes out of her mouth.

"We have arrived," Percy says happily as he parks. He's taking up two spaces, but not very many people are visiting Steak N Shake at 3 A.M., so he just shrugs at it and swings Annabeth's door open for her.

Percy pauses at the entrance to their favorite restaurant, making Annabeth hit her nose on his shoulder. "Ouch," she complains, and Percy laughs before he pets her nose gently.

"I'm sorry, friend," he coos. She shoves him away, and Percy smiles before his eyes soften. "All good?"

Which, Annabeth knows, is code for _are you sure you're alright? Do you need anything? A hug? A cuddle? You can always stay at my place if it's too much; you know my mom loves you. I love you, too, you know, you're my best friend and I'd do anything to make sure you're happy._

So, Annabeth answers with a "yeah" because she's always all good around Percy. It's almost impossible _not_ to be all good around him, since he's the kind of person who sidles up right next to you and manages to erase every bad thought in your head and replace it with genuine smiles and breathless laughter.

"Good," he says, pinching her ear before they both stumble inside.

"I should have known," the woman behind the counter says with mock-annoyance. "You meddling kids always show up after curfew; I should really call your parents."

Percy and Annabeth both smile at her. Mrs. Christine is a woman they've both known for ages—-or, well, ever since they started their late night/early morning escapades. "Good morning, kids," she says with a sigh. "I'm guessing you want a plate of fries and two chocolate milkshakes."

"Yes, please!" they chorus in unison, choosing to sit at the bar. She smiles at them with a hint of motherly fondness before disappearing further into the kitchen.

Percy folds his arms over each other and rests his head on them. "More fighting?" he questions softly.

Annabeth nods. "Yeah. Don't want to talk about it, though."

He grimaces in sympathy and moves one of his arms so that it presses against hers. "It'll be fine. And even if it isn't, I'll just kidnap you and we can have sleepovers every night for the rest of our lives."

Annabeth smiles a little, drawing circles on the counter. "That sounds nice."

"And we can get chocolate milk at 2 A.M., because Mom's room is the furthest away from the kitchen. And we can stay up all night watching How I Met Your Mother. And we can do all of our homework together—-"

Annabeth snorts. "More like I'd do yours for you."

He smiles gently. "Yeah, but it's the thought that counts, right?"

Mrs. Christine arrives with their milkshakes, sliding the fries so that they sit directly in between the two glasses. "Hurry up. Can't have you hooligans desecrating on my restaurant." She smiles teasingly before walking off once more.

"Desecrating: to treat a sacred or otherwise important place with disrespect," Annabeth recites immediately, seeing the way Percy's brow furrows in confusion. "You're welcome."

He grins hugely at her after a lengthy sip of his shake. "Where would I be without you?"

Annabeth tries to eat as many fries as she can before Percy just takes the plate for himself, and Percy gives her sad looks every time she snatches a handful of fries. "That's so cheating," he declares, slapping her hands away. "You're an awful best friend. I'm filing for a new one. One who won't steal my fries."

"Excuse me?" Annabeth says, raising one hand. "You owe me."

"And just _how_ do I—-?"

"I gave you the answers to the study guide for chemistry." She raises an eyebrow, and Percy blinks at her. "_And_ I told you what number seven was on the test."

"You didn't! I asked you if it was A and you said yes. I knew the answer. I was just checking," Percy argues, experimentally dipping a fry in his milkshake.

"I don't understand why you try that every time we come here," Annabeth mutters, but she does it herself. "We never like it."

Percy winces a little, shuddering a little. "I will never understand how people like fries dipped in milkshakes. I'm trying so hard to like it, but I just can't."

He looks sincerely distressed over the matter, so Annabeth reaches out and flicks his forehead. "Hey, you're dumb."

"_You're_ dumb," Percy shoots back, sticking his tongue out. "Are we still on for the Mario Kart tournament this weekend?"

"Duh," Annabeth says, rolling her eyes. "I have to prove that I'm the only person on Earth who's _good_ at Rainbow Road."

"I'm good at Coconut Mall!"

She scoffs. "_Everyone's_ good at Coconut Mall."

Percy narrows his eyes at her. "You sure know how to make a man feel special."

"Not like you would know," she answers lightly. "You aren't a man. Just a puny teenage boy in a blue Neon."

Percy makes a noise halfway between a grunt and an indignant squawk. "The Neon is my _baby_. And I'm not puny. I've been, you know, working out."

Annabeth laughs so hard she thinks chocolate milkshake comes out of her nose. "Percy, getting the mail once a week isn't working out."

He sighs dramatically, but there's a smile tugging at his lips like he knew just what Annabeth was going to say. "It's progress."

By the time he drops her off, it's nearing 5 A.M. and Annabeth has to be up for school in three hours. He squeezes her upper arm as a substitute for a hug, and doesn't leave until Annabeth is safely inside her window. The shouting's gone quiet, her headache's disappeared, and somehow she ended up with one of Percy's jackets.

She falls right asleep.

;;;


End file.
